. >> rose: the issue at the beginning of the obama administration was settlements, right? >> yes, indeed. and i think that's where the obama administration, as aaron pointed out, made a mistake i think they hit netanyahu very hard on settlements while at the same time extending a hand to the iranians. that did not go over very well with a variety of israelis. here israel was a staunch ally of the united states. had come up 16 years in which presidents were in love with their israeli counterparts as aaron pointed out and here was the new president taking a very hard stance on settlements while at the same time telling the iranians he'll talk to them about anything anywhere at any time i think that could have been handled differently. i think obviously we've been dancing around the issue of settlements for a very long time. this is a central issue in the conflict. >> rose: aaron, are the israelis doing things that make a palestinian settlement increasingly difficult? >> sure. >> rose: are they doing it because they don't want to see a settlement? they don't want to see an ag